Opposition Sen. Pia S. Cayetano on Friday took up the cudgels for the vice president, calling on President Macapagal-Arroyo’s allies to refrain from unfairly using De Castro as their “punching bag every time public calls mount for the resignation of the President."

“So why not Noli?” Cayetano, who is running for reelection in 2010, said in a statement.

“So why not give Noli a chance to prove his worth and run the country, even in the last days of this regime? They’ve insulted and belittled his position and capabilities too far,” said Cayetano.

Cayetano was apparently irked by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez' statement on Thursday that De Castro could not lead the country as President for the next six months, or during the campaign season, because the economy was in the doldrums.

She disagreed with the administration ally’s claim that De Castro would be incapable of leading the government if the President stepped down to campaign for her congressional bid in Pampanga.

"Vice President Noli de Castro was elected to his post by the Filipino people. He is the constitutional successor to the President in the improbable scenario that Mrs. Arroyo suddenly decides to resign out of delicadeza after casting her candidacy for a congressional seat in Pampanga,” she said.

"Many times in the past, the vice president has been the favorite punching bag of Mrs. Arroyo’s apologists whenever calls mount for her to step down," said Cayetano, referring to "Hello Garci" wiretapping controversy in 2005, the rescinded National Broadband Network scandal in 2007 and now the filing of her candidacy for Congress.

Unlike Ms Arroyo, De Castro was never involved nor linked to corruption scandals, extrajudicial killings and massacres, "the very issues that have hounded this administration in the last nine years,” Cayetano said.

She added that unlike Arroyo, De Castro had decided not to run for any position in next year’s elections, thus making him an ideal “transitional leader” until the reins of government are handed over to the next President.